Novel •Ties
Milkweed
Jerry Spinelli
A Study Guide
Written By Carol Alexander
Edited by Joyce Friedland and Rikki Kessler
LEARNING LINKS INC.
2300 Marcus Avenue • New Hyde Park • New York 11042
MILKWEED
For the Teacher
This reproducible study guide to use in conjunction with the novel Milkweed
consists of lessons for guided reading. Written in chapter-by-chapter format, the guide
contains a synopsis, pre-reading activities, vocabulary and comprehension exercises, as
well as extension activities to be used as follow-up to the novel.
In a homogeneous classroom, whole class instruction with one title is appropriate. In a heterogeneous classroom, reading groups should be formed: each group
works on a different novel at its own reading level. Depending upon the length of time
devoted to reading in the classroom, each novel, with its guide and accompanying lessons,
may be completed in three to six weeks.
Begin using NOVEL-TIES for reading development by distributing the novel
and a folder to each child. Distribute duplicated pages of the study guide for students
to place in their folders. After examining the cover and glancing through the book,
students can participate in several pre-reading activities. Vocabulary questions should
be considered prior to reading a chapter; all other work should be done after the chapter
has been read. Comprehension questions can be answered orally or in writing. The
classroom teacher should determine the amount of work to be assigned, always keeping in mind that readers must be nurtured and that the ultimate goal is encouraging
students’ love of reading.
The benefits of using NOVEL-TIES are numerous. Students read good
literature in the original, rather than in abridged or edited form. The good reading
habits, formed by practice in focusing on interpretive comprehension and literary techniques, will be transferred to the books students read independently. Passive readers
become active, avid readers.
Novel-Ties® are printed on recycled paper.
The purchase of this study guide entitles an individual teacher to reproduce pages for use
in a classroom. Reproduction for use in an entire school or school system or for commercial use
is prohibited. Beyond the classroom use by an individual teacher, reproduction, transmittal or
retrieval of this work is prohibited without written permission from the publisher.
Copyright © 2006 by LEARNING LINKS INC.
MILKWEED
SYNOPSIS
Misha, who calls himself “Stopthief,” is a young orphan of unknown parentage
who survives by scrabbling for food in the streets of Warsaw. His life becomes still more
tenuous when the Nazis, or Jackboots, march into the city and inflict a reign of terror on
the Jews and other “undesirable” minorities.
Misha joins a band of orphaned Jewish children who discover ways to trick and
evade the soldiers. Unaware that the soldiers’ presence in the city spells disaster for many
of its inhabitants, Misha longs to become a Jackboot one day, marching grandly through
the avenues of Warsaw.
Uri, an older boy who befriends Misha, tries to protect him from his naïve impulses.
But the younger boy continues to roam the streets, making the occasional friend, such as
the good doctor who runs an orphanage and a girl named Janina Milgrom, for whom he
develops an attachment. Once the Jews are driven into the ghetto, an enclosed area of
the city, food and other basic necessities become scarce. Smuggling becomes Misha’s key
to survival.
Misha joins the Milgrom family in the ghetto and undertakes to keep them and
the children in the orphanage alive by smuggling food. Soon Janina follows Misha on his
nightly raids, becoming adept at pilfering and running. But she becomes too reckless,
causing Misha to fear the reprisal of the Jackboots who are executing smugglers and
hanging the corpses of those caught in the act. Desperately poor and underfed, the ghetto’s
residents are frequently tortured and tormented by the Nazis; even worse, terrible
rumors spread about the death camps and the ovens used for exterminating Jews, other
minorities, and dissenters. It is no longer safe to be a Jew or a Gypsy.
Misha learns that time is running out for people like himself. At last, the day
comes when the ghetto walls are taken down and the Jews are herded like cattle onto trains
bound for the death camps. Few will survive, and Misha will experience the terrible loss
of the people he loves. But he does endure, through the grim post-war years in Poland,
immigration to America, and a long period of near-madness that follows his extraordinary
childhood. On the street corners of his adopted city, Misha relentlessly bears witness to
the Holocaust, locked in his memories of suffering and terror until human kindness and
compassion finally set him free.
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MILKWEED
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Seeds of World War II
During the 1930s Germany, soundly defeated in World War I, gathered strength
under the leadership of the fanatical nationalist Adolf Hitler. Hitler and his Nazi Party
rearmed Germany, breaking the Versailles Treaty of 1919 that had been designed to keep
peace throughout Europe. Hitler’s trained thugs murdered political opponents, clearing
his way to power. The Nazi leader entered into a series of negotiations that would allow
Germany to dominate Eastern Europe. Envisioning themselves as a superior or “master”
race, the Nazis ultimately planned to rule northern Europe as well.
Hitler carefully laid his political groundwork. The 1934 nonagression pact he
signed with Poland was a ploy to keep the Poles from arming against Germany. Hitler
then signed an agreement with Stalin, Russia’s leader, dividing Poland between them. In
1936, the Italian dictator Mussolini also signed a nonagression pact with Germany. In 1938,
the Nazi-run government incorporated Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia into an empire
known as “the Third Reich.” The stage was set for another world war. When France and
Great Britain failed to act quickly to stop Hitler, the Germans opened hostilities.
German troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939; sixteen days later, the
army of the Soviet Union took control of eastern Poland. The main target of the German
offensive was Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. The German Luftwaffe flew about 1,150
bombing raids, terrorizing the inhabitants and destroying many areas of the old city. After
three weeks of intensive fighting, the Poles surrendered to the Germans. Nazi-occupied
Warsaw quickly became a grim place. The invading army took over factories, lodgings
and food supplies, causing serious shortages throughout the city.
The Jews of Warsaw
Amid the general suffering, the large Jewish population was hardest hit. The
Nazis instituted harsh laws against the Jews, forcing them to give up monies and other
valuables. The Germans targeted Jewish-owned businesses, instilling terror through random beatings and killings. Throughout the autumn of 1939, a series of discriminatory
laws were enforced throughout the city. Jews were ordered to wear white armbands
showing the Jewish Star of David. Jewish businesses had to be similarly identified. Jews
were forbidden to own radios or to ride trains. People tried to survive by trading their
hidden possessions for food, but as the war continued, this became increasingly difficult.
In October 1940, the sizeable Jewish population, the second largest in the
world, was forced into a small area of the city known as the Jewish Quarter, or ghetto.
The following month saw the building of a ten-foot wall that sealed in the ghetto inhabitants. Only those men chosen to perform forced labor were allowed to pass out of the ghetto
into other areas of the city. Schools were not allowed to operate, and cultural activities had
to be conducted secretly. A Jewish police force was created to keep order in the ghetto.
These collaborators were feared almost as much as the Nazis.
Jewish leadership in the ghetto consisted of the Judenrat and a number of
self-help organizations such as the Jewish Mutual Aid Society, which tried to assist the
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MILKWEED
indigent of the ghetto. The Nazis allowed some businesses to operate in the ghetto, but
poverty and starvation, along with illness, soon caused the deaths of thousands of Jews.
Food rations for the ghetto were so small as to barely sustain life. Smuggling became a
common practice for the people of the Jewish Quarter, who would bribe guards or find
secret ways to cross the wall. The smugglers who brought foodstuffs back to their starving
families and neighbors were brave people who knew that if they were caught, they would
immediately be executed.
A Jewish resistance was gradually formed by youth groups politicized in
response to the intensifying rumors of Hitler’s Final Solution for the Jews and other
unwanted members of society. The labor camps were in fact death camps designed for
the purpose of mass killings. Between 1942 and 1943, as many as 300,000 Warsaw Jews
were deported to the concentration camps. Underground groups such as the Jewish
Fighting Organization and the Revisionist Party mobilized to fight the deportations,
temporarily succeeding in stemming the doomed tide. These groups built bunkers that
could be used to hide people and fight the SS troops. The ghetto’s ultimate armed struggle against the Nazis came in the spring of 1943. Although the freedom fighters were
eventually defeated, the revolt, like the Warsaw Uprising, is a testament to human courage
in the most hopeless of circumstances.
Because of the impossibility of keeping precise records, we do not know how
many people were deported; many died in SS roundups in the ghetto, were murdered,
starved to death, or carried off by disease. Survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto have recorded
their stories, which are every bit as horrifying as Misha’s fictionalized memoir of the war
in Milkweed.
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PRE-READING ACTIVITIES
1. Preview the book by reading the title and author’s name and by looking at the illustration on the cover. Also, read the publisher’s blurbs on the cover. What do you think
the book will be about? Where do you think it takes place? Have you read any other
books by the same author? Have you read any books on the same subject?
2. Social Studies Connection: The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, statesponsored persecution and murder of Jews by the Nazis. In addition to Jews, the
Nazis persecuted the Poles, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics, homosexuals, and Roma
(Gypsies). Read the Background Information on page two of this study guide and do
some additional research to learn more about the genocide orchestrated by Hitler and
his Nazi troops and how it affected the Jewish population of Poland. Record information in the first two columns of a K-W-L chart, such as the one below. Fill out the
third column after you finish the book.
What I Know
–K–
What I Want to Know
–W–
What I Learned
–L–
3. Do you think it is important for people to “bear witness” to historical events? What
might be the value of telling the stories? What might be the consequence if historical
events were not recorded or were changed on record?
4. Do you think it is important for people to know their identity and their family background? What are the advantages of knowing? What are the possible disadvantages?
5. A stereotype is an oversimplified image of a group of people, usually held in common
by some part of society. How can stereotypes be harmful? What do you think people
can do to overcome stereotyping? Have you ever noticed any examples of stereotyping
in your community or in the media?
6. In Milkweed, the main character spends years without meaningful contact with
another person. During this time, he speaks few words aloud. What do you imagine
might happen to you if you could not express your thoughts and feelings to anyone?
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MILKWEED
CHAPTERS 1 – 8
Vocabulary: Draw a line from each word on the left to its definition on the right. Then
use the numbered words to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.
1. cellar
a.
small container, such as a box
2. jumble
b.
came together
3. canister
c.
with wild excitement
4. converged
d.
public performance
5. bombardment
e.
basement
6. spectacle
f.
did not believe
7. doubted
g.
confused mass
8. frantically
h.
attack with guns or bombs
........................................................
1. The players ____________________ on the soccer field to listen to the coach’s
instructions.
2. Everyone enjoyed the ____________________ of the school marching band at half-time.
3. When lightning split the sky and the heavy rains began, people ran _________________
into stores and restaurants.
4. I could not find my library book in the ____________________ of papers and magazines
in my messy room.
5. After the ____________________ ended, many beautiful buildings had been damaged or
completely destroyed.
6. Since I felt sick at the beginning of the race, I ____________________ that I could win.
7. You will find the dog biscuits in the red ____________________ on the counter.
8. Fearing that our house was in the path of a tornado, our family huddled together
downstairs in the ____________________ .
Read to find out how Uri and his group of orphaned boys survived in Warsaw.
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CHAPTERS 1 – 8 (cont.)
Questions:
1. Why did the narrator call himself “Stopthief ”?
2. Who were the boys that the narrator met in the stable? Why did they steal?
3. Why weren’t the boys eager to have Stopthief join their group? How did Uri convince
them otherwise?
4. Why was it fairly easy for the boys to steal food?
5. How did Uri and the boys conclude that Stopthief was a Gypsy and not a Jew like them?
6. Why did Uri take Stopthief to an abandoned building?
7. What was the first evidence that revealed to Uri and Stopthief that the Nazi soldiers
had begun their persecution of Jews?
8. Why did Uri create a name and a family background for Stopthief?
9. Why did Misha run off with the girl’s birthday cake?
10. Why did Misha think he would have to paint “Jew” on the barbershop window?
Questions for Discussion:
1. Why do you think Uri’s group of boys acted in such a tough, insensitive manner? How
do you think they became so independent?
2. Why do you suppose the people of Warsaw did not openly fight or resist the invading
soldiers?
3. Why do you think Stopthief admired the invading Nazi soldiers as they first marched
into Warsaw?
4. Why do you think the Nazi soldiers cut the beards of Jewish men?
5. In your opinion, was the boys’ thievery justified?
6. What qualities do you think were needed to survive as an orphaned child in Warsaw?
Literary Devices:
I. Hook—A hook in literature refers to text at the beginning of a work that is meant to
grab the reader’s attention. What is the hook at the beginning of this novel?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
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CHAPTERS 1 – 8 (cont.)
II. Point of View—Point of view in literature refers to the person telling the story. This
person is called the narrator. The narrator might be the author or a character in the
story. From whose point of view is this story told?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Why do you think the author chose this point of view?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
III. Metaphor—A metaphor is a suggested or implied comparison between two unlike
objects. For example:
We passed the black, twisted skeletons of streetcars.
What is being compared?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
What does this tell about what has happened in the city?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Literary Element: Setting
Setting refers to the time and place where the events of a novel occur. What is the setting
of Milkweed?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
How does the setting determine the events in this novel?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Writing Activity:
Imagine that you are either Uri or Janina and write a journal entry describing the new
boy Uri has brought to the group of orphaned children. Tell whether you think he can
survive conditions in Warsaw and if he will be an asset to the group.
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MILKWEED
CHAPTERS 9 – 15
Vocabulary: Read each group of words. Cross out the one that does not belong with the
others. On the line below the words, tell how the remaining words are alike.
1. glittered
shone
sparkled
combusted
The other words are alike because _______________________________________________
2. disappeared
vanished
existed
removed
The other words are alike because _______________________________________________
3. brilliance
murkiness
dimness
gloom
The other words are alike because _______________________________________________
4. transparent
dense
thick
solid
The other words are alike because _______________________________________________
5. dodged
evaded
eluded
complimented
The other words are alike because _______________________________________________
6. intrigued
fascinated
bored
absorbed
The other words are alike because _______________________________________________
7. desire
appetite
disgust
craving
The other words are alike because _______________________________________________
Read to find out how Misha and Uri live after they flee the barbershop.
Questions:
1. Why were Uri and “Misha” forced to leave their hiding place in the barbershop
building?
2. How did Misha try to lure Janina out of her house?
3. Why did Uri tie a rope around Misha’s waist?
4. Why did Misha desperately want to believe in angels?
5. What did Uri mean when he said he believed in bread? What did this statement
reveal about him?
6. Why were the trees disappearing in Warsaw?
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Chapters 9 – 15 (cont.)
7. Why did Uri become angry with Misha after he was struck by the car?
8. Why were “black pearls” valuable?
9. Why did Dr. Korczak have all of the orphans in his house thank Misha?
10. Why did the soldiers torture the innocent Jewish man upon discovering the theft of
the merry-go-round horse?
11. Why were so many of Warsaw’s Jews walking in the streets carrying possessions with
them?
Questions for Discussion:
1. Why do you think that only the Jews of the city had to obey a curfew?
2. Why do you think Enos said that only Jackboots believed in angels?
3. Do you imagine Misha and Uri would have been better off in Dr. Korczak’s orphanage
than they were on their own? Why did the boys prefer to live on the run?
4. Why do you suppose Misha insisted to Dr. Korczak that he was not an orphan?
5. What do you think was suggested by Misha’s comment about the doctor that “there
was a question on his face, but I could not answer it”?
6. Why do you think the authorities forced the Jews to live in the ghetto?
Literary Devices:
I. Simile—A simile is a figure of speech in which two unlike objects are compared using
the words “like” or “as.” For example:
The streetlights were like moons cupped in iron fingers.
What is being compared?
________________________________________________________________________________________
What does this reveal about the narrator’s view of the world around him?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
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Chapters 9 – 15 (cont.)
I I. Personification—Personification is a figure of speech in which an author grants
human qualities to a nonhuman object. For example:
One, a thick, burly monster of a tree with warts, came down with a
high, thin wail that sounded exactly like a baby crying.
What is being personified?
________________________________________________________________________________________
What does this reveal about the narrator’s feelings?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
III. Dramatic Irony—Dramatic irony is a device, usually found in plays, in which one
character is unaware of information that the audience or reader already knows. It is
used to create tension or provide humor. What is the dramatic irony in the scene
when Misha accompanies Janina’s family on their way to the ghetto? What is the
effect of this device?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
I V. Symbolism—A symbol in literature is an object, person, or event that represents an
idea or a set of ideas. What do you think the black horse on the merry-go-round might
have symbolized?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
What do you think the fox-face furs with beady black eyes symbolize?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Social Studies Connection: Life in a Ghetto
Do some research to find out about Dr. Janusz Korczak, an actual hero of World War II.
What were some of Dr. Korczak’s accomplishments? Why should his memory be honored?
Write a brief report and present it to a group of your classmates.
Writing Activity:
Imagine that you are Dr. Korczak, and write a letter to a friend in which you describe the
little boy who calls himself Misha Pilsudski.
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MILKWEED
CHAPTERS 16 – 22
Vocabulary: Use the context to help you determine the meaning of the underlined word
in each of the following sentences. Then draw a line from each numbered word below to
its definition on the right.
• After a good growing season, the farmer had a fine harvest in the autumn.
• The people on the coast heeded the storm warnings and left their homes for safer
areas.
• I was so nervous before the test that I could barely eat a morsel of food.
• The vendors at the street fair arranged items on tables and racks so that shoppers
could easily see their wares.
• The hungry wolf rapidly devoured the meat and then trotted off to drink from a nearby
stream.
• When the door of the paddock swung open, the horses stampeded into the field.
• I regret my decision to spend so much money on entertainment, and wish I had saved
some cash for more important things.
• When my father came upon an intruder in the backyard, he was surprised to see it was
a hungry raccoon in search of garbage.
........................................................
1. harvest
a.
small bite or portion
2. heeded
b.
people who sell goods
3. morsel
c.
feel sorry about
4. vendors
d.
unwelcome visitor
5. devoured
e.
gathering of a crop
6. stampeded
f.
paid attention to
7. regret
g.
ate up greedily
8. intruder
h.
ran in a scattered way
Read to find out about life in the Warsaw ghetto.
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Chapters 16 – 22 (cont.)
Questions:
1. Why did the people hurry to reach the ghetto?
2. Why had Mr. Milgrom carried his bottles of medicine all the way across the city?
3. How did the Jackboots regard Gypsies, Jews, and disabled people? Why were all
these groups the same in their eyes?
4. Why was a wall built around the Warsaw Ghetto?
5. Why were Misha and the boys evicted from the stable?
6. Why were dead bodies a common sight in the ghetto?
7. What evidence showed that the residents of the ghetto were starving?
8. Why did Misha slip out of the ghetto from time to time? Why was he able to do this?
9. Why did Uri attack one of the flops?
10. Why were people in the ghetto concerned about the rumor that Himmler would be
coming to the ghetto?
Questions for Discussion:
1. Do you think the people in the ghetto had any choice but to accept their conditions of
deprivation and humiliation?
2. In your opinion, why did some of the Jews in the ghetto act brutally toward fellow Jews?
3. Why do you think Ferdi chose to deny the existence of mothers and oranges?
4. What do you think was the purpose of making the ghetto inhabitants stand at attention for hours in the snow?
5. Why do you imagine Mr. Milgrom finally chose to claim Misha as one of the family?
Literary Devices:
I. Simile—What is compared in the following simile?
The bricks were red, the sky was brilliant blue, the knots in the
barbed wire sparkled like ladies’ earrings.
__________________________________________________________________________________
How does Misha’s observation reveal his state of mind? Why didn’t he simply say,
“the knots in the barbed wire were shiny”?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
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Chapters 16 – 22 (cont.)
II. Cliffhanger—A cliffhanger is a device borrowed from serialized silent films in which
an episode ends at a moment of suspense. In a book, a cliffhanger usually appears at
the end of a chapter to encourage the reader to continue on in the book. What is the
cliffhanger at the end of Chapter Twenty-two?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Writing Activity:
Imagine that you are a newspaper reporter and write an article about what is happening
inside the Warsaw Ghetto. Draw upon details from the story to make your article realistic.
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Chapters 16 – 22 (cont.)
Literary Element: Characterization
As you read about the people in Milkweed, fill in the character chart below. Make note of
any special or unusual qualities of each character. You may add other characters to the
chart.
Character
About the Character
Misha
Uri
Janina
Dr. Korczak
Mr. Milgrom
Uncle Shepsel
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CHAPTERS 23 – 30
Vocabulary: Word analogies are equations in which the first pair of words has the same
relationship as the second pair of words. For example: SLIM is to STOUT as DULL is to
BRIGHT. Both pairs of words are opposites. Choose the best word from the Word Box to
complete each of the analogies below.
confirmed
contrary
WORD BOX
deserted
pestered
goad
salute
torment
1. APPLAUD is to ACTOR as ___________________ is to SOLDIER.
2. PEACEFUL is to EXCITED as ___________________ is to AGREEABLE.
3. ___________________ is to TORTURE as WANDER is to ROAM.
4. PULL is to TUG as ___________________ is to PUSH.
5. PRAISED is to CRITICIZED as ___________________ is to DENIED.
6. ___________________ is to ANNOYED as SOOTHED is to CALM.
7. ABANDONED is to ___________________ as TREASURED is to CHERISHED.
Read to find out about worsening conditions in the Warsaw ghetto.
Questions:
1. Why was Misha unable to believe that the man in the car was actually Himmler?
2. Why did Misha tease and taunt Buffo? Why were these pranks dangerous?
3. How did the relationship between Misha and Janina gradually change after Misha was
accepted as one of the Milgrom family?
4. How did Misha help the Milgroms and the orphans to survive?
5. Why were crows the only birds to visit the ghetto?
6. What made Misha “the perfect smuggler”?
7. Why was Janina surprised to discover that the city outside the ghetto still existed?
8. Why did Misha want to prevent Janina from joining him on his smuggling raids?
9. What were the Flamethrowers trying to accomplish?
10. How did Janina manage to continue smuggling without “disobeying” her father?
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Chapters 23 – 30 (cont.)
Questions for Discussion:
1. Under what circumstances could a person such as Buffo flourish? Might such a person flourish anywhere today?
2. Why do you think Misha was accepted as a member of the Milgrom family?
3. Why do you think the soldiers and their girlfriends took pictures of Janina?
4. What do you think Janina learned from her smuggling expeditions with Misha? What
skills could he teach her?
Literary Device: Symbolism
What do you think the milkweed symbolized?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Literary Element: Synesthesia
Synesthesia is the description of one kind of sensation in terms of another. For instance,
sounds may be described as colors, or colors may be described as temperature. Writers use
synesthesia to create comparisons that appeal to more than one physical sense at a time.
Underline the phrases that illustrate this device in the following passage:
Soon we were among the people, the source of the voices and sounds
that came drifting over the wall. In the ghetto all was gray: the people
were gray, the sounds were gray, the smells were gray. Here everything
was colors to me: the red clang of the streetcars, blue music from the
phonographs, silver laughter of people. In the distance the tootles of the
merry-go-round were a swirl of colors. Whenever I came through the wall,
I wanted to do nothing but walk the streets.
Writing Activity:
Imagine you are living in the Warsaw ghetto and you want the rest of the world to know
what is happening there. Write about the sights and sounds and the incidents that you
witness.
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CHAPTERS 31 – 36
Vocabulary: Synonyms are words with similar meanings. Draw a line from each word in
column A to its synonym in column B. Then use the words in column A to fill in the
blanks in the sentences below.
A
1. fragment
B
a. disturbance
2. reliable
b. sneaking
3. commotion
c.
4. accused
d. dependable
5. veering
e.
depression
6. lurking
f.
bothering
7. harassing
g. blamed
8. crater
h. turning
portion
........................................................
1. My brother ______________________ me of taking his football, but I protested that I
was not guilty.
2. The sixth graders were warned against ______________________ the younger children
in the playground.
3. The policeman noticed a suspicious man ______________________ around the bank and
ordered him to move on.
4. When we found the large ______________________ in the field, we assumed a meteorite
had landed there.
5. The group of runners was ______________________ to the right to avoid a patch of
rough ground.
6. This ______________________ of pottery, all that is left of a Grecian bowl, is many
centuries old.
7. When they heard the ______________________ on the street, the firefighters stopped
their truck to see whether help was needed.
8. My car has always been so ______________________ that I was amazed when it needed
repair.
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Chapters 31 – 36 (cont.)
Read to find out how life becomes even worse in the ghetto.
Questions:
1. Why did Uri order Misha never to speak to him?
2. Why did the Jackboots hang Olek? Why was Janina stunned at the sight of Olek’s
corpse?
3. Why was Misha solemn on the day of Mrs. Milgrom’s funeral?
4. How did Mr. Milgrom pay the undertaker for his services?
5. How did Mr. Milgrom try to shield Misha and Janina from the bombs?
6. What did Misha mean when he said, “This was the ghetto: where children grew down
instead of up”?
7. What happened to make life in the ghetto even worse than it had been before?
8. Why did Mr. Milgrom decide to celebrate Hanukkah in the midst of all the suffering?
9. How did Misha’s physical growth threaten his survival?
10. Why did Misha work hard to find an egg for Janina? How was his struggle rewarded?
11. Why did Uncle Shepsel convince himself that he was a Lutheran?
12. Why did Uri advise Misha to get out of the ghetto?
Questions for Discussion:
1. In what ways do you think the Nazis showed evidence of excessive cruelty and
insensitivity?
2. Why do you think food was being thrown over the wall into the ghetto? Why might it
have stopped happening?
3. Why do you imagine the ragged man with the silver pipe invited the children “to
come to the candy mountain”?
4. Why might the Jackboots have set fire to the cow? Why do you suppose no one had
ever seen the cow before?
5. Why do you suppose Misha found it hard to identify the emotion of happiness?
6. Where do you think the trains were taking Jews?
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MILKWEED
Chapters 31 – 36 (cont.)
Literary Device: Irony
I. What was ironic about Misha’s calling the city outside the ghetto walls “Heaven”?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
I I. Foreshadowing—Foreshadowing refers to the clues that an author provides to suggest
later events in the story. What do you think is foreshadowed by Mr. Milgrom’s saying
“There is nothing else they can do to us”?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Writing Activity:
Imagine you are Mr. Milgrom and write about hope. Tell what you think the best thing for
which each member of your surviving family could hope.
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MILKWEED
CHAPTERS 37 – 45
Vocabulary: Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. Draw a line from each word
in column A to its antonym in column B. Then use the words in column A to complete the
sentences below.
B
A
1. agitated
a. tiny
2. dozing
b. innocent
3. enormous
c.
4. forbidden
d. dull
5. guilty
e.
ordinary
6. insane
f.
waking
7. exotic
g. sensible
8. radiant
h. permitted
calm
........................................................
1. The wounded soldier was declared temporarily ____________________ and placed in
a hospital that treated mental disorders.
2. Usually we were ____________________ to eat any candy at all, but on Halloween my
parents let us have some of the treats we received.
3. I felt quite ____________________ when I missed my bus because I would be late
for the concert.
4. This ____________________ bird is found only in the tropics and is rarely seen
outside of its native habitat.
5. The farmer came home from a tiring day in the fields and was soon _________________
in his old armchair.
6. The child’s ____________________ smile seemed to light up the whole room.
7. A(n) ____________________ bookcase occupied an entire wall of the family room.
8. The teacher could tell from her student’s ____________________ expression that
he had forgotten to do his homework again.
Read to find out how Misha survived the war.
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MILKWEED
Chapters 37 – 45 (cont.)
Questions:
1. Why did the people of the ghetto prefer the word “resettlement” to the word
“deportation”? What was the underlying significance of these words?
2. What was the quota that the Jackboots had to fill each day?
3. Why did the ragged man return to the ghetto? How did most people respond to what
he told them?
4. Why did Mr. Milgrom try to send Misha and Janina away from the ghetto?
5. Why was it finally impossible for Misha to protect Janina from the Jackboots?
6. Who was the Jackboot who shot off Misha’s ear? Why do you think he did it?
7. How did the farmer’s wife help Misha survive after he left the ghetto?
8. How did Misha survive immediately after the war ended?
9. Why did Misha rant and rave about the war even after he arrived in America?
What finally stopped him from doing this?
10. What ruined Misha’s marriage?
11. How did Misha finally find peace?
Questions for Discussion:
1. Why do you suppose many of the Warsaw Jews believed they would be resettled in a
better place?
2. Do you think Uri was justified in becoming a Jackboot and then injuring Misha?
3. What were the advantages of being “nobody”? What were the disadvantages of lacking an identity?
4. Why do you think it was important for Misha to learn that the last Jews in the
Warsaw ghetto fought back against the Nazis?
5. Whom do you suppose Misha was addressing when he said, “You were the thing that
gave me shape. . . . You were the bottle I poured myself into”?
6. Why do you imagine Misha never told anyone about Janina?
7. In what sense do you think Misha was healed by at last having a biological family of
his own? In particular, how did watching over his granddaughter help him recover
from the terrors of his own childhood?
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MILKWEED
Chapters 37 – 45 (cont.)
Literary Devices:
I. Allusion—An allusion is a literary reference to a familiar person, place, or event.
Sometimes writers allude to other works of literature. Why did the author refer to
“Hansel and Gretel”? Why did this folk tale emphasize the horror of the Holocaust for
Misha?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
II. Irony—What was ironic about finding the book of Lutherans in the abandoned
apartment?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Literary Element: Mood
In literature, mood refers to the atmosphere or state of mind produced by a passage.
Mood also creates certain expectations on the reader’s part about what may follow.
Consider the following passage from Milkweed:
I saw that there was not one train, but many. Thick, yellow light
came from lamps hung high on a forest of poles. Locomotives huffed
and whispered and blew steam from their wheels. Endless lines of
boxcars vanished into the blackness. Jackboots and Jackdogs flashed
from the shadows.
What mood does this passage create? What were your feelings as you read this description
of a Warsaw train platform? Underline the words that contributed to this mood.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
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MILKWEED
Chapters 37 – 45 (cont.)
Social Studies Connection:
Do some research to find out about the Warsaw Ghetto revolt of 1943. How did the people
of the ghetto fight back? What was the result of the revolt? Write a brief report based on
your findings.
Writing Activities:
1. Imagine that Janina managed to survive the war and reunited with Misha many
years later. Write a dialogue that might take place between the two characters.
2. Write a journal entry describing your feelings about Misha’s experiences. Which
events were especially memorable for you?
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MILKWEED
CLOZE ACTIVITY
The following passage has been taken from the Chapter Thirty-nine. Read it through
completely. Then fill in each blank with a word that makes sense. Afterwards, you may
compare your language with that of the author.
When night returned, we approached the wall. And I realized how
1
2
_________________ I was. What had I been thinking? _________________ the holes going
3
4
to come back? Was _________________ wall going to be lower than last _________________?
5
I wished we had Big Henryk’s shoulders to _________________ on. I tried to think, tried to
6
7
_________________. Suddenly Janina ran to the wall and _________________ her hands
8
about her mouth and yelled _________________ all her might: “Tataaaa!” I tackled her
9
10
_________________ rolled us into the shadows as a _________________
down the wall
turned.
11
Just to be _________________
12
________________.
something, we began another tour around the
13
When we came to Stawki Station, where _________________
14
always daytime, with the lights and _________________
15
people and clanking boxcars, I
16
to do. The Stawki Street gate in _________________
suddenly knew _________________
17
wall was open. People were parading through. _________________
18
pulled her along. We _________________
19
Jackboots _________________
20
_________________
dogs guarded both sides of the gate.
21
people slumped along with their suitcases, heads _________________
22
_________________
teeth of the dogs were snapping into
faces.
24
I did not bother to give _________________
25
copied everything _________________
instructions. Why should I? She
26
did. I dashed for the parade of _________________.
27
I plunged into them. I lost myself _________________
28
the _________________,
29
30
_________________
their legs. While they headed for
I groped and shouldered in the opposite _________________.
They paid no more attention to me _________________
31
grabbed her hand,
behind a shed near the gate.
low, as if they did not know _________________
23
was
to the dogs. When I sensed I
32
passed through the gate to the ghetto _________________,
33
sharply to my right, popped _________________
I broke
of the parade, and bolted. There were
dogs and shouts behind me, then gunshots—my first prayer plucked at my lips: No
flamethrowers, please—but by then there were shadows and rubble and I was tucked
into a pocket of blackness like a rat.
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MILKWEED
POST-READING ACTIVITIES AND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Return to the K-W-L chart on the Holocaust that you began in the Pre-Reading activities
on page four of this study guide. Based on your reading, correct any errors that you
might have made in column one, and then record what you learned in the third column.
Compare your notes with those of your classmates.
2. Return to the character chart that you began on page fourteen of this study guide.
Add further information. Discuss your entries with others who have read the same
book. Choose two characters and create a Venn diagram, such as the one below, to
compare them. Record the characters’ similar qualities in the overlapping part of the
circles.
3. Social Studies Connection: Do some research about the lives of Holocaust survivors.
You might look up some general articles or find personal accounts written by those who
endured life in a concentration camp in Europe. How did people adjust to their new
circumstances after the war? Write a brief report about the survivor’s experiences after
the war ended.
4. Literary Element–Symbolism: Trace the symbol of the milkweed throughout the
novel. When did it first appear? Did its meaning remain the same or change during
the course of the novel? Trace the symbols of the carousel horses, the angels, and
Janina’s shiny black shoes. What might each of these symbols represent?
5. Literary Element–Theme: The theme of a work of art is the author’s main idea or
message. Milkweed contains many themes, such as the struggle for survival, compassion versus inhumanity, the search for an identity, and isolation versus community.
Choose one of these themes and show how it is worked out in the novel.
6. It takes the narrator of this novel many years to find a reliable identity and a voice he
can use without fear. What would it mean to lack these human attributes? How would
being nameless and essentially ignored damage a person?
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MILKWEED
Post-Reading Activities and Questions for Discussion (cont.)
7. The novel begins with the sentence “I am running.” Trace the act of running and the
references to running throughout the book. How does running shape Misha’s life?
What happened to those who couldn’t or wouldn’t run? At the end of the novel, do you
think Misha was able to stop running?
8. Literature Circle: Have a literature circle discussion in which you tell your personal
reactions to Milkweed. Here are some questions and sentence starters to help your
literature circle begin a discussion.
• Do you find the characters in the novel realistic? Why?
• What questions would you like to ask the author about this novel?
• Who else should read this novel? Why?
• I (like, do not like) the way this story is told because . . .
• Misha learned that . . .
• It was exciting when . . .
• It was frightening when . . .
• I wonder . . .
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MILKWEED
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
Bitton-Jackson, Livia. I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust.
Scholastic.
____________________. Elli: Coming of Age in the Holocaust. Times Books.
Boas, Jacob. We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teens Who Died in the Holocaust.
Scholastic.
* Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. Random House.
* Giff, Patricia Reilly. Lily’s Crossing. Random House.
* Greene, Bette. Summer of My German Soldier. Random House.
Glass, Linzi. The Year the Gypsies Came. Henry Holt.
* Orlev, Uri. The Island on Bird Street. Houghton Mifflin.
Levitin, Sonia. The Return. Random House.
Lobel, Anita. No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War. HarperCollins.
* Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Random House.
* ___________. Number the Stars. Random House.
* Matas, Carol. Daniel’s Story. Scholastic.
Opdyke, Irene. In My Hands: Memoirs of a Holocaust Rescuer. Random House.
Perl, Lila. Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story. HarperCollins.
Schmidt, Gary. Mara’s Stories: Glimmers in the Darkness. Henry Holt.
* Yolen, Jane. The Devil’s Arithmetic. Penguin.
* Wiesel, Eli. Night. Hill and Wang.
Zacharius, Walter. Songbird: A Novel. Atria.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Random House.
Some Other Books by Jerry Spinelli
The Bathwater Gang. Little, Brown.
* Crash. Random House.
Fourth Grade Rats. Scholastic.
* Loser. HarperCollins.
* Maniac Magee. Little, Brown.
Space Station Seventh Grade. Little, Brown.
* Stargirl. Random House.
* Wringer. HarperCollins.
* NOVEL-TIES study guides are available for these titles.
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MILKWEED
ANSWER KEY
Chapters 1 – 8
Vocabulary:
Questions:
1. e 2. g 3. a 4. b 5. h 6. d 7. f 8. c; 1. converged 2. spectacle 3. frantically 4. jumble
5. bombardment
6. doubted
7. canister 8. cellar
1. The narrator called himself “Stopthief” because, not knowing his given name, he assumed that
the word people shouted after him was his actual name. 2. The boys that the narrator met in the
stable were Jewish orphans, hiding from the Nazis; they stole because they had no other way to
obtain food, clothing, and other necessities. 3. The boys were not eager to accept Stopthief
because they thought he was too young, too small, and not smart enough. Uri convinced them to
accept Stopthief because a runt like him would be able to snatch food and run away fast. 4. The
boys were able to take advantage of the state of alarm and general disorder in the city. With the
sirens blaring and shops closing up abruptly, the children learned they could slip into a grocery
or bakery and grab what they needed, or steal directly from passersby. 5. The boys concluded that
Stopthief was a Gypsy because he wore a yellow stone as an amulet around his neck. 6. Uri took
Stopthief to an abandoned building to offer him a home and protection in the place where he had
appropriated to make his own home. 7. The first evidence of Nazi persecution of Jews in Warsaw
was the sighting of bearded men scrubbing the streets with their beards and having their beards
shorn by Nazi soldiers. 8. Uri made up a name and a family background for Stopthief because he
realized that the orphaned boy needed to be able to identify himself in a plausible way, and that
as a Gypsy he might be treated better than as a Jew. 9. Misha ran off with the girl’s birthday
cake because he had no appreciation of the traditions surrounding the celebration of a birthday.
Assuming that someone was trying to set the cake on fire, he decided to snatch it and run away.
10. Misha naïvely thought they would have to write “Jew” on the barbershop window because he
saw that all Jewish-run businesses in Warsaw had to be labeled thus.
Chapters 9 – 15
Vocabulary:
Questions:
1. combusted–the other words describe a steady casting off of light 2. existed–the other words indicate
that something is gone 3. brilliance–the other words describe a condition of low light or semi-darkness
4. transparent–the other words describe the quality of being compressed, closely-packed, or heaped
5. complimented–the other words describe the action of avoiding or escaping someone or something
6. bored–the other words describe a condition of being enthralled or highly attracted by an object or person 7. disgust–the other words are alike because they indicate a state of longing
1. Uri and ‘Misha” were forced to leave their hiding place in the barbershop building because the
Jackboots had begun destroying the property and would soon have discovered and harmed the
boys. 2. Misha tried to lure Janina out of her house by leaving her loaves of bread on the steps
in hopes she would venture out to see him. 3. Uri tied a rope around Misha’s waist to keep him
from going off on his own and to punish him for his reckless behavior in the streets. 4. Misha desperately wanted to believe in angels because he longed for a more powerful being to protect him.
5. When Uri said he believed in bread, he meant that he had faith in tangible things, not in what
he could not see; this statement revealed that he was a practical, down-to-earth boy with an
instinct for survival. 6. The trees were disappearing in Warsaw because it was a time of great
poverty in the city; people needed to keep warm and had to cut down trees to make fires in their
homes. 7. Uri became angry with Misha after he was struck by the car because he had explicitly
instructed the younger boy not to attract attention to himself in any way; and instead, Misha had
caused people to notice the pair, a circumstance that could have lead to their arrest or worse.
8. “Black pearls,” lumps of coal one could find scattered around in the rubble, were valuable
because once ignited, they would burn well and provide light and heat. 9. Dr. Korczak had all of
the orphans thank Misha because he had left them numerous gifts of food and coal. 10. Upon discovering the theft of the merry-go-round horse, the soldiers tortured the innocent Jewish man
because all Jews were being made scapegoats by the Nazi regime, and one Jew would serve as
an example as well as any other. 11. The Jews of Warsaw had been rounded up, told to take only
the possessions they could carry, and walk to a place in the city that had been designated as a
ghetto.
Chapters 16 – 22
Vocabulary:
Questions:
1. e 2. f 3. a 4. b 5. g 6. h 7. c 8. d
1. The people hurried to reach the ghetto in search of a habitable dwelling-place: those who
arrived last got the worst quarters. 2. Mr. Milgrom carried his bottles of medicine all the way
across the city because he realized there would be no doctors, pharmacists, or medicines for the
inhabitants of the ghetto, and thought that perhaps his supply could save some lives. 3. The
Jackboots regarded Gypsies, Jews, and disabled people as unfit to live among their “master race”;
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MILKWEED
these groups were all the same to Nazi eyes because they were deemed “inferior” specimens of
humanity. 4. A wall was built around the Warsaw Ghetto to keep in the residents, turning the
ghetto into an unofficial prison. 5. The boys were evicted from the stable because a “finch” must
have reported them to the Nazis who were taking all the remaining “undesirables” to the ghetto.
6. Dead bodies became a common sight in the ghetto due to starvation, disease, and murder. 7. It
was clear that starvation of the ghetto residents had become Nazi policy when there was no food
in the stores and the meat of horses, dogs, cats, and even rats (sold as squirrels), appeared in the
market. 8. Misha slipped out of the ghetto from time to time to pilfer food; he was aided by his
small size which made it possible for him to slither through a drainpipe. 9. Uri attacked one of
the flops in retaliation against his persecution of Big Henryk: the flops, who were Jews themselves, were generally hated by ghetto inhabitants. 10. Since Himmler was the second most
important Nazi in command and the one ultimately responsible for conditions in the ghetto, people were worried that his visit could only signal worse times ahead.
Chapters 23 – 30
Vocabulary:
Questions:
1. salute 2. contrary 3. torment 4. goad 5. confirmed 6. pestered 7. deserted
1. Misha was unable to believe that the scrawny, partially blind, and altogether unimpressive man in the car was Himmler because he expected to see a powerful, imposing man capable of wielding great power. 2. Misha teased and taunted Buffo because the terrible Flop was
so fat that he could not easily catch a quick child; these pranks were dangerous because
Buffo was a pitiless murderer of children and adults. 3. After Misha was accepted as one of
the Milgrom family, the relationship between Janina and Misha became one of fierce sibling
rivalry instead of friendship. 4. Misha helped the Milgroms and the orphans to survive by
smuggling food and supplies into the ghetto from the other side of the wall. 5. Crows were
the only birds to visit the ghetto because unlike most common city birds, they were scavengers who could feed on flesh; the other birds, who would have sought crumbs of food, had
nothing to lure them over the wall into the ghetto. 6. Misha was “the perfect smuggler”
because he was small, quick, fearless, and he had a good knowledge of Warsaw. 7. Janina
was surprised to discover that the city outside the ghetto still existed because months behind
its walls had reduced her world to the cramped ghetto and partially erased her impressions
of the larger world. 8. Misha wanted to prevent Janina from joining him on his smuggling
raids because her lesser skill and lack of self-restraint made her a dangerous ally; he was
also afraid that she would be caught and murdered by the Jackboots who had already given
the family a warning. 9. The Flamethrowers were trying to drive people out of the sewers,
where they were hiding from the Jackboots. 10. Although Janina understood her father’s
meaning, she followed the letter of his command by smuggling on her own, instead of going
with Misha.
Chapters 31 – 36
Vocabulary:
Questions:
1. c 2. d 3. a 4. g 5. h 6. b 7. f 8. e; 1. accused 2. harassing 3. lurking 4. crater 5. veering
6. fragment 7. commotion 8. reliable
1. Uri ordered Misha never to speak to him because Uri was now passing as a Gentile; if he had
been seen talking with Misha, his Jewish identity might have been recognized and his life endangered. 2. The Jackboots hanged Olek because he had been caught smuggling; Janina was
stunned at the sight of his corpse because, although she had seen many dead bodies in the
ghetto, she had never seen the corpse of a person she knew. 3. Misha was solemn on the day of
Mrs. Milgrom’s funeral because he knew the family mourned her passing; he too grieved because,
despite her rebuff, he thought of her as his mother. 4. Mr. Milgrom paid the undertaker with prescription pills. 5. Mr. Milgrom tried to shield Misha and Janina from the bombs by lifting them
into Mrs. Milgrom’s grave, where they would have some cover from the air strike. 6. When Misha
said, “This was the ghetto: where children grew down instead of up” he meant that starvation
was reducing the children physically, and that they were pared down in size and weight, and
often died from lack of nutrition. 7. Life in the ghetto became worse than it had ever been because
more people were forced into the area by the Nazis, so there was less food, less space for living,
and more tension; also, with the attack by the Russians, there was now danger from the bombings. 8. Mr. Milgrom decided to celebrate Hanukkah in the midst of all the suffering to show that
he still had hope: Hanukkah is the celebration of survival against great odds. 9. Misha’s physical growth threatened his survival because if he got too big to slip through the hole in the wall,
he would no longer be able to scavenge for food. 10. Misha worked hard to find an egg for Janina
to cure her depression; he was rewarded by her obvious enjoyment, a brief moment of satisfaction which seemed to break her cycle of depression. 11. Uncle Shepsel convinced himself that he
was a Lutheran because he foolishly believed that this would save him from the Nazis. 12. Uri
advised Misha to get out of the ghetto because the Nazis would soon be deporting all Jews.
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MILKWEED
Chapters 37 – 45
Vocabulary:
Questions:
1. c 2. f 3. a 4. h 5. b 6. g 7. e 8. d; 1. insane 2. forbidden 3. agitated 4. exotic
5. dozing 6. radiant 7. enormous 8. guilty
1. The people of the ghetto preferred the word “resettlement” to the word “deportation”
because while “resettlement” suggested a fresh chance at life in a different place, “deportation” suggested that people would simply be shipped away with no concern for what would
become of them. 2. The Jackboots had to fill a quota, meaning a certain number, of deportations each day; the rumor was that the quota was between 5,000 and 10,000 people a day.
3. The ragged man returned to the ghetto to warn people about the concentration camp from
which he had escaped, where people were being killed by the thousands; most people
responded to these reports with disbelief, shutting their ears to the unbearable truth. 4. Mr.
Milgrom tried to send Misha and Janina away from the ghetto because he thought they
would have a better chance of survival living by their wits than they would have if they were
deported to the camps. 5. It was finally impossible for Misha to protect Janina from the
Jackboots because while he knew enough to avoid the trains, she ran wildly toward them
and was easily caught and thrown on a traincar. 6. The Jackboot who shot off Misha’s ear
was Uri; he did it to prevent him from being deported to the death camps. 7. The farmer’s
wife helped Misha survive after he left the ghetto by feeding him, tying him up so that he
could not try to reach the camps in his delirium, and making him run away from the farm
when the Nazis approached. 8. After the war ended, Misha’s life continued to be a struggle
for survival, in which he used his skills in running and thieving to become a vendor of stolen
goods that people badly needed; these skills allowed him to survive amid the desperate
poverty of the region. 9. Misha continued to rant and rave about the war even after he came
to America because he was mentally deranged as a result of his war experiences and yet he
was sane enough to want to bear witness to the atrocities. He finally stopped due to the kindness of the two women who reassured him that he had been heard, and that this nightmare
was at an end. 10. Misha’s marriage was ruined because of his abnormal behavior, the result
of his terrible childhood deprivation and trauma, coupled with his wife’s inability to understand how to deal with this behavior. 11. Misha finally found peace twenty-five years after
his marriage ended, when his daughter and grandchild came to claim him as family.
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®
Little Novel •T ies
Study Guides
Abby...........................................L0813
Alexander, and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day.......L0043
Alexander Who Used to Be
Rich Last Sunday.................L2045
Amelia Bedelia...........................L0206
Anansi the Spider.......................L0897
Anna Banana and Me.................L0266
Arthur’s Baby.............................L1047
A Big Fat Enormous Lie.............L0795
Blueberries for Sal ....................L0331
Bringing/Rain to Kapiti Plain......L2666
Caps For Sale.............................L0336
A Chair For My Mother..............L1370
for
Novel • T ies
GRADE 1
Arthur’s Camp-Out ....................S2543
A Bargain for Frances..................S0321
Biscuit..........................................S0290
Buzby...........................................S0157.
The Case of/Hungry Stranger.......S1211.
Danny and the Dinosaur..............S0347
Forest...........................................S0272.
Frog and Toad All Year................S3409
Frog and Toad Are Friends...........S0363.
Frog and Toad Together...............S0364
George and Martha......................S1451
The Grandma Mix-up...................S1826
Grandmas at Bat..........................S2716
Grandmas at the Lake..................S1830
The Great Snake Escape..............S0943
Here Comes the Strikeout............S1704.
Kick, Pass, and Run.....................S2730
The Lighthouse Children..............S2731
Little Bear.....................................S0162
Little Bear’s Friend.......................S1389.
Little Bear’s Visit..........................S0504
Little Runner of the Longhouse...S1318
Mouse Tales.................................S0121
Mrs. Brice’s Mice.........................S2073
Newt.............................................S2930
Oliver...........................................S3760
Sammy the Seal...........................S3284
The Smallest Cow in the World...S0101.
Tales of Oliver Pig ......................S2544.
Uncle Foster’s Hat Tree................S3115
Wagon Wheels.............................S1321
GRADE 2
Anna, Grandpa and /Big Storm.....S2545
Annie and the Old One.................S0758.
Balto: The Bravest Dog Ever........S3744
A Bear for Miguel.........................S2931
The Beast/Ms. Rooney’s Room....S0475
The Big Balloon Race...................S1322.
Blackberries in the Dark...............S0148.
The Boston Coffee Party..............S1302
The Boy with the Helium Head.....S3384
Buffalo Bill and/Pony Express......S2732
Busybody Nora............................S0018.
Cam Jansen /Dinosaur Bones......S0130.
Cam Jansen /Gold Coins..............S0462.
Chang’s Paper Pony.....................S2358.
Daniel’s Duck...............................S1312
Dinosaurs Before Dark
(Magic Tree House)...............S1754
The Drinking Gourd.....................S1323.
Emma’s Magic Winter..................S0681
Flat Stanley..................................S2733
Freckle Juice................................S0361.
Henry and Mudge........................S0408.
Hill of Fire....................................S1324
Hour of the Olympics...................S3348
In the Dinosaur’s Paw
(Polk Street)............................S0256
The Jamie and Angus Stories......S3794
The Josefina Story Quilt...............S1317
Juan Bobo....................................S2546
Primary Picture Books
Ira Sleeps Over..........................L0696
The Last Puppy..........................L0736
The Legend of the Bluebonnet...L2929
Leo the Late Bloomer.................L0690
The Little Island.........................L0715
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile....................L1536
Madeline....................................L0505
Madeline’s Rescue.....................L0662
Make Way For Ducklings...........L0380
May I Bring a Friend?................L0382
Mike Mulligan and
His Steam Shovel................L0774
Millions of Cats..........................L0691
Miss Nelson is Missing..............L0707
Miss Rumphius..........................L0932
Clifford the Big Red Dog............L0685
Clifford the Small Red Puppy.....L0342
Cloudy with a Chance
of Meatballs..........................L3135
Corduroy....................................L0344
Crictor........................................L1198
Curious George..........................L0345
Dandelion...................................L1226
Franklin Fibs...............................L2398
Gilberto and the Wind................L1668
Goodnight Moon........................L0687
Gregory the Terrible Eater..........L0704
Harry the Dirty Dog....................L0771
Humphrey’s Bear.......................L1186
®
Julian’s Glorious Summer...........S0549
Junie B., First Grader (at last!)....S3612
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid
Smelly Bus..............................S1753
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie...S3260
Kidnapped at Birth?
(Marvin Redpost)....................S3313
The Knight at Dawn
(Magic Tree House).................S1943
Little Soup’s Hayride....................S1402
Molly’s Pilgrim.............................S1375
Monster/3rd Dresser Drawer.......S0558
Mummies in the Morning............S2560
(Magic Tree House)
Nate the Great..............................S0602
Nate the Great /Missing Key........S0267.
Nate the Great /Musical Note.......S1403.
Next Spring an Oriole...................S1060.
The One in the Middle is a
Green Kangaroo......................S0994.
The Outside Dog..........................S2547.
Rip-Roaring Russell.....................S0920.
Russell Sprouts...........................S0921
Sam the Minuteman.....................S1308
Seven Kisses in a Row.................S0528.
Snowshoe Thompson..................S2273
Song Lee in Room 4B..................S1839
The Stories Huey Tells.................S3116
The Stories Julian Tells................S0765.
Thunder at Gettysburg.................S0420.
Tornado.......................................S2734
Tye May and the Magic Brush.....S0158
Who Cloned the President?
(Capitol Mysteries)..................S3568
GRADE 3
26 Fairmount Avenue...................S3613
Adventures/Ali Baba Bernstein.....S0918
Aldo Applesauce..........................S0917
Amber Brown Goes Fourth..........S1009
Amber Brown is Not a Crayon.....S2729
Be a Perfect Person /Three Days..S0515
Ben and Me..................................S1061
The Boxcar Children.....................S0378
The Chalk Box Kid........................S0988
The Chocolate Touch...................S0532
Class Clown.................................S0919
The Courage of Sarah Noble........S0833
Donovan’s Word Jar....................S3117
Ellen Tebbits................................S0146
Felita............................................S1062
Front Porch Stories......................S2548
A Gift for Mama...........................S0539
Go Fish.........................................S3306
A Grain of Rice.............................S2361
Helen Keller..................................S0040
Herbie Jones................................S2735
How to Eat Fried Worms..............S0374
The Hundred Dresses..................S0991
The Hundred Penny Box..............S0760
The Indian School........................S2932
J.T................................................S0052
Jake Drake, Bully Buster..............S1139
Ox-Cart Man...............................L0646
Pinkerton, Behave!.....................L2130
Roxaboxen.................................L1187
The Snowy Day..........................L0658
Stevie.........................................L1360
Stone Soup (Brown)..................L0412
The Story of Ferdinand..............L0414
Strega Nona...............................L1647
Sylvester/Magic Pebble..............L0653
Timothy Goes to School............L1225
Umbrella....................................L1368
Where the Wild Things Are........L0422
Whistle For Willie.......................L0801
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in
People’s Ears........................L0423
Study Guides
Judy Moody Saves/World............S0309
Justin and the Best Biscuits
in the World...........................S3138
The Littles....................................S0553
Maurice’s Room...........................S1063.
Mishmash....................................S3745
The Most Beautiful Place/World...S0299
The Mouse and the Motorcycle...S0181
A Mouse Called Wolf...................S0135
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle......................S0298
Muggie Maggie............................S0127
My Father’s Dragon.....................S0202
My Name is Maria Isabel.............S2140
The Night Crossing......................S3118
O’Diddy........................................S1064
Ralph S. Mouse...........................S2616
Ramona Forever...........................S0186
Ramona Quimby, Age 8...............S1158
Ramona the Brave.......................S0565
Ramona’s World..........................S0886
The Secret Soldier.......................S0279
The Shoeshine Girl.......................S0993
Shortstop From Tokyo.................S0938
Sidewalk Story.............................S2549
Silver............................................S1075
The Skirt......................................S0140
Surprise Island
(Boxcar Children)....................S2000
A Taste of Blackberries................S0201
There’s an Owl in the Shower......S3144
The Trouble with Tuck.................S1404
The Year of the Panda.................S2171
GRADE 4
All-of-a-Kind Family.....................S0005
Almost Starring Skinnybones......S2161
Anastasia Krupnik........................S0985
Arthur, for the Very First Time.....S0522
Baby.............................................S2680
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple.........S0250
Because of Winn-Dixie.................S0959
Best Christmas Pageant Ever.......S2624
The BFG.......................................S1393
The Big Wave...............................S0123
Bunnicula.....................................S1065
By the Great Horn Spoon.............S2550
Caleb’s Story................................S1761
Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory....................S0132
Charlotte’s Web...........................S0023
Chocolate Fever...........................S2337
The Cricket in Times Square........S0229
Dear Mr. Henshaw.......................S0141
Encyclopedia Brown:
Boy Detective........................S0449
The Enormous Egg......................S0147
The Family Under the Bridge.......S1081
Fantastic Mr. Fox.........................S0033
Finding Buck McHenry.................S2642
The Friendship.............................S1613
Frindle..........................................S3119
Fudge-A-Mania.............................S1477
The Gold Cadillac.........................S1672
The Great Brain............................S0037
Henry Huggins.............................S0160
House with/Clock in its Walls......S1405
Iggie’s House...............................S0163
The Indian in the Cupboard.........S0992
James and the Giant Peach.........S0170
The Janitor’s Boy.........................S3761
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William
McKinley, & Me, Elizabeth......S0258
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.....S0908
Journey to Jo’burg.......................S1066
The Kid in the Red Jacket............S2227
The Landry News.........................S1021
The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe................................S0060
A Lion to Guard Us......................S0835
Little House in the Big Woods.....S0467
Little House on the Prairie...........S0263
A Long Way From Chicago..........S2379
Loser............................................S3642
Lunch Money...............................S3801
Maggie Marmelstein for
President...................................S006
The Midnight Fox.........................S0155
The Miraculous Journey of
Edward Tulane.........................S3799
Mississippi Bridge.......................S2736
Misty of Chincoteague.................S0068
Mr. Popper’s Penguins................S0560.
My Brother Stevie........................S0122
Nightjohn.....................................S2675
Nory Ryan’s Song........................S3643
Our Only May Amelia...................S2720
The Penderwicks..........................S3795
Pippi Longstocking......................S0563
Poppy...........................................S2603
Robin Hood/Sherwood Forest......S1233
Sadako/Thousand Paper Cranes..S0091
Sarah, Plain and Tall....................S0401
Search for Delicious.....................S0277
Shiloh...........................................S1372
Shiloh Season..............................S3120
Skinnybones................................S0939
Skylark . ......................................S2551
Socks...........................................S0100
Soup............................................S0406
Stone Fox.....................................S0569
Strider..........................................S2453
Stuart Little..................................S2737
Superfudge..................................S0416
The Tale of Despereaux...............S3640
Tales/Fourth-Grade Nothing.........S1067
There’s a Boy in the
Girl’s Bathroom.......................S3614
The Tiger Rising...........................S3764
Trouble River...............................S0205
Trumpet of the Swan...................S0755
The Velveteen Rabbit...................S0288
The Witch of Fourth Street...........S0117
Yang the Youngest/ Terrible Ear..S0242
A Year Down Yonder...................S3615
Learning Links Inc.
Dept. P09 • (516) 437-9071 • Fax (516) 437-5392 • Toll Free 800-724-2616 • www.learninglinks.com
Novel •Ties Study Guides
®
GRADE 5
Adam of the Road........................S1248
Al Capone Does My Shirts...........S3762
Among the Hidden.......................S1127
Among the Imposters..................S3661
Amos Fortune, Free Man..............S2501
Babe the Gallant Pig.....................S2206
The Bad Beginning.......................S3522
Baseball Fever..............................S0365
Bloomability.................................S0979
The Borrowers.............................S0519
Boy in the Striped Pajamas..........S3802
Bridge to Terabithia.....................S0017
Bud, Not Buddy............................S3309
Burning Questions/Bingo Brown.. S1406
The Cabin Faced West.................S0986
Caddie Woodlawn........................S0019
Call It Courage...............................S18A
Castle in the Attic.........................S1249
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit..............S0020
The Cay........................................S0022
Charley Skedaddle.......................S1159
Crash...........................................S3001
Crispin: The Cross of Lead..........S3619
Daniel’s Story...............................S2514
Danny/Champion of the World.....S0139
Daphne’s Book.............................S0962
Dectectives in Togas....................S1242
Dragonwings................................S0234
Edgar Allan...................................S0031
Elijah of Buxton............................S3807
Ella Enchanted.............................S3121
Esperanza Rising.........................S3616
Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff..S1089
Fever 1793...................................S3746
The Fighting Ground....................S0355
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule....S3492
Freaky Friday................................S0034
Freedom Crossing........................S1162
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs.
Basil E.Frankweiler.................S0243
A Gathering of Days.....................S0629
George Washington’s Socks........S3618
The Girl Who Owned a City..........S0036
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!......S3800
The Great Gilly Hopkins...............S0039
The Gypsy Game..........................S0860
Harriet the Spy.............................S0276
Harry Potter/Chamber of Secrets.. S2696
Harry Potter/Sorcerer’s Stone......S0346
The Higher Power of Lucky.........S3763
Homeless Bird.............................S1013
Ida Early Comes Over/Mountain..S1082
In the Year of the Boar and
Jackie Robinson.......................S0434
The Incredible Journey................S0048
Island of the Blue Dolphins..........S0050
Jacob Two-Two/Hooded Fang ....S0752
A Jar of Dreams...........................S1625
Jip:His Story................................S3156
Journey to America......................S1103
Julie.............................................S1513
Julie of the Wolves......................S0053
The Land I Lost............................S0261
Letters from Rifka........................S2066
Lily’s Crossing.............................S0508
Lizzie Bright/Buckminster Boy.....S3758
Luke Was There...........................S0927
The Maldonado Miracle ..............S1350
Matilda.........................................S0375
Missing ‘Gator/Gumbo Limbo......S2303
Missing May................................S0327
My Louisiana Sky.........................S1007
My Side of the Mountain.............S0070
Olive’s Ocean...............................S3556
On My Honor...............................S0997
The Perilous Road.......................S1160
The Phantom Tollbooth...............S0184
Philip Hall likes me .....................S1408
Pictures of Hollis Woods.............S3747
The Pinballs.................................S0084
Prairie Songs...............................S0846
Queenie Peavy.............................S1474
Return of the Indian.....................S2204
Seedfolks.....................................S3310
Shades of Gray............................S0339
Sign of the Beaver.......................S0125
The Silver Coach..........................S1068
Sing Down the Moon...................S0193
Slake’s Limbo..............................S0098
Summer of the Monkeys.............S1123
Summer of the Swans.................S0103
Surviving the Applewhites...........S3748
The Talking Earth.........................S0626
The Thief Lord.............................S3645
Three Cups of Tea........................S3806
Timothy of the Cay.......................S2473
Toliver’s Secret............................S0837
Touching Spirit Bear..................... S3646
True Confessions/Charlotte Doyle.S0428
Tuck Everlasting...........................S0107
The Twenty-one Balloons.............S0573
The Upstairs Room......................S2532
War Comes to Willy Freeman......S1899
The War with Grandpa.................S0574
Weasel.........................................S0524
Welcome Home, Jellybean...........S0112
When Zachary Beaver Came
to Town....................................S2218
The Whipping Boy.......................S0576
Who Really Killed Cock Robin?...S0934
The Wish-Giver............................S0579
GRADE 6
Abel’s Island................................S2933
The Acorn People.........................S0001
Alan and Naomi...........................S0520
Alice in Wonderland . ..................S0218
Anne of Green Gables..................S0521
Artemis Fowl................................S3617
Belle Prater’s Boy.........................S3122
The Black Pearl............................S0013
Blue Willow..................................S1499
Brian’s Winter..............................S1411
The Bronze Bow...........................S2339
Catherine, Called Birdy ...............S2552
Chasing Redbird..........................S3123
Chasing Vermeer.........................S3750
City of Ember...............................S3759
The Crossing ..............................S1348
The Devil’s Arithmetic..................S1407
Dogsong......................................S0923
The Door in the Wall....................S0233
Down a Dark Hall.........................S0144
The Egypt Game...........................S1399.
The Endless Steppe.....................S1271
A Family Apart.............................S0841
Flush............................................S3797
Follow My Leader.........................S0989
Freak the Mighty..........................S0419
Gathering Blue.............................S3749
Gentlehands.................................S0395
The Graveyard Book.....................S3803
The Giver.....................................S0436
The Goats.....................................S0562
The Golden Goblet.......................S2148
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!......S3800
Hatchet.........................................S0990
The High King..............................S0371
Holes............................................S0838
Homer Price.................................S0692
Homesick.....................................S0253
Hoot.............................................S2365
The House of Dies Drear..............S1855
Interstellar Pig.............................S0545
Island on Bird Street....................S2515
Jacob Have I Loved ....................S0169
Journey Home ............................S1626
Kira, Kira......................................S2712
Lyddie..........................................S0718
Maniac Magee..............................S1409
The Master Puppeteer..................S0175
M.C. Higgins, the Great................S0630
The Midwife’s Apprentice.............S2738
Mrs. Frisby and the
Rats of NIMH...........................S0071
Nothing But the Truth..................S0415
Number the Stars.........................S1069
Old Yeller.....................................S0077
One-Eyed Cat...............................S1070
Out of the Dust............................S3124
Park’s Quest.................................S1071
Parrot in the Oven........................S3158
The Planet of Jr. Brown...............S1094
The Pushcart War........................S0086
Rascal..........................................S0088
Red Scarf Girl..............................S3275
The River.....................................S2467
Sarah Bishop...............................S0191
The Secret Garden.......................S0278
Shadow of a Bull..........................S0634.
A Single Shard.............................S1043
The Slave Dancer.........................S0631
Small Steps..................................S3805
Snow Treasure.............................S1072
So Far From the Bamboo Grove..S0404
Soldier’s Heart.............................S1161
The View from Saturday..............S2934
Waiting For the Rain....................S0425
Walk Two Moons.........................S2553
The Watsons Go to Birmingham.. S2935
The Westing Game.......................S0113
When My Name Was Keoko........S3796
The White Mountains...................S0210
The Wind in the Willows..............S0291
The Witch of Blackbird Pond.......S0116
Words By Heart...........................S0963
Wringer........................................S0762
Year of Impossible Goodbyes......S2170
Zlata’s Diary.................................S0424
GRADEs 7-8
Across Five Aprils........................S0984
Adventures of Tom Sawyer..........S0003
Animal Farm.................................S0007
Anne Frank: Diary of a
Young Girl................................S0008
April Morning...............................S0009
Banner in the Sky.........................S1460
Bless the Beasts and Children.....S0014
A Boat to Nowhere.......................S0015
The Call of the Wild.....................S0987
Cheaper By the Dozen..................S0024
Children of the River....................S1624
Chinese Cinderella.......................S3756
The Chocolate War.......................S0226
A Christmas Carol........................S3125
Come Sing, Jimmy Jo..................S0343
The Contender.............................S0510
Criss Cross..................................S3399
The Dark is Rising.......................S0348
A Day No Pigs Would Die............S0230
Deathwatch..................................S0030.
Dicey’s Song................................S0231
El Bronx Remembered.................S2190
Farewell to Manzanar...................S0150
Forged BY Fire.............................S2868
The Golden Compass...................S3169
The Hobbit...................................S0042
Homecoming...............................S0668
Hoops..........................................S0372
The House on Mango Street........S2188
I Am the Cheese...........................S0046
I Heard the Owl Call My Name.....S0047
Johnny Tremain...........................S0051
Killing Mr. Griffin.........................S0507
A Lantern in Her Hand.................S0055
Let the Circle Be Unbroken..........S1342
The Light in the Forest.................S0058
The Little Prince...........................S0063
The Lottery Rose.........................S0066
Milkweed......................................S3757
The Miracle Worker.....................S0891
Monster.......................................S1617
My Brother Sam is Dead..............S0069
No Promises in the Wind.............S0387
The Old Man and the Sea.............S0076
Our Town.....................................S0893
The Outsiders...............................S0080
The Pearl......................................S0081
The Pigman..................................S0083
The Red Pony..............................S0089
Redwall........................................S2851
Rifles for Watie............................S0637
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry......S0124
Romeo and Juliet.........................S0190
Rumble Fish.................................S0090
Scorpions.....................................S1618
Shabanu.......................................S1280
Sounder.......................................S0198
Stargirl.........................................S3602
Streams to/River, River to//Sea...S0675
Summer of My German Soldier...S0102
Tangerine.....................................S3311
Tears of a Tiger............................S3766
That Was Then, This is Now........S0966
Treasure Island............................S0287
Watership Down..........................S0111
When the Legends Die.................S0209
Where the Lilies Bloom................S0995
Where the Red Fern Grows..........S0114
A Wrinkle in Time........................S0119
The Yearling.................................S0120
Z for Zachariah.............................S0582
GRADEs 9-12
1984............................................S0074
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn...S0002
All Quiet on the Western Front.....S0006
Angela’s Ashes.............................S3312
The Astonishing Life of
Octavian Nothing....................S3804
The Bean Trees............................S3270
Beloved........................................S3126
Black Boy.....................................S0012
The Book Thief.............................S3798
Catcher in the Rye.......................S0021
The Crucible.................................S0894
Death of a Salesman....................S0029
Fahrenheit 451.............................S0032
Flowers for Algernon...................S0151
Great Expectations.......................S0295
The Great Gatsby.........................S0038
Hamlet.........................................S0929
I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings.....................S3256
The Joy Luck Club.......................S3127
Julius Caesar...............................S0502
The Lilies of the Field...................S1073
Lord of the Flies...........................S0065
Macbeth.......................................S2682
A Midsummer Night’s Dream......S2684
Murder on the Orient Express......S0072
My Ántonia...................................S2554.
Night............................................S0073
Of Mice and Men.........................S0075
One Flew Over/Cuckoo’s Nest......S0183
Ordinary People...........................S0078
Picture of Dorian Gray.................S0082
Raisin in the Sun.........................S0087
The Red Badge of Courage..........S0996.
The Scarlet Letter.........................S0093
A Separate Peace.........................S0096
Shane...........................................S0097
Things Fall Apart..........................S0759
To Kill a Mockingbird...................S0106
Twelfth Night...............................S2687
Up a Road Slowly........................S0632
The War Between the Classes......S1074
The Wave.....................................S0300
Learning Links Inc.
Dept. P09 • (516) 437-9071 • Fax (516) 437-5392 • Toll Free 800-724-2616 • www.learninglinks.com